SAN DIEGO (May 21, 2024) – San Diego Wave FC announced today that midfielder Sofia Jakobsson and defender Hanna Lundkvist will join the Sweden Women’s National Team for the final round of group play of the 2024 Women’s European Qualifiers.
Sweden is currently third in Group A3 following a 1-0 loss to France and a 1-1 draw with England in April of this year. Sweden will now take on the Republic of Ireland, who currently sit in fourth in Group A3, in back-back matches in this final round of group play ahead of knock-out rounds in July.
Sweden’s matches with the Republic of Ireland will take place on Friday, May 31 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland at 11:30 a.m. PT and on Tuesday, June 4 at 9:30 a.m. PT at Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden.
At the international level, Jakobsson has represented Sweden since 2011, earning her first senior cap in May before being named to the FIFA World Cup roster later that year. The international has since earned 153 caps and been a part of four World Cups and three Olympics for Sweden.
Lundkvist earned two starts for Sweden in both European Qualifiers matches in April against France and England. The 21-year-old made her Swedish national team debut with the U-23 side in 2021, and over a year later, she was called up to the Swedish senior national team for a friendly match against Australia and later went on to make her first team debut in February 2023. In June 2023, Lundkvist was named to the 23-player squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup but was later removed from the roster due to injury.
About the European Qualifiers
The European Qualifiers are composed of a league stage and final tournament play-offs, where the league stage splits teams into three leagues: League A with 16 teams, League B with 16 teams, and League C with 19 teams. Each team’s starting league position is determined based on the results of the Nations League. Teams compete in groups of four or three teams (League C) and over six matchdays, with each team playing one home match and one away match against all the other teams in their group.
The ultimate goals of this phase are to qualify for the UEFA Women’s EURO (or the FIFA Women’s World Cup) and to be positioned as high as possible in the league system for the next cycle. The European Qualifiers ranking at the end of the league stage determines three main outcomes: who qualifies directly for the final tournament, who goes into the play-offs for the final tournament, and what starting league position teams will have in the upcoming Nations League. Depending on the league standings, teams will either maintain their position in the league or be automatically promoted or relegated.
